Eyeglass frame construction



June 6, 1950 J. E. HANSEN EYEGLASS FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan 17, 1947INVENTOR Patented June 6, 1950 untrue:

OiFFl'ECEi lameness-FRAME CONSTRUCTION a .ccrporationnflviaineApplication lanuary 17 1947, Shrink-Nth 7223681-ThiSfinVentiOH'TeMtes'13d norr-tmetallic eyeglass" frameconstructiont'and infest-particularly ,to the" temple of 'anonemetallic-r' eyeglass frame: F

Or i'e' of the obj ects" of? this. invention is-tcr provide'a non-metallic temple for-an eyeglass' frame =-whi'ch"is sirnp1e', practicaliandi'thorcugh'ly durable. Another obj-ect" is.= to' .provideeanonmetallic i temple of the above character: which is neat andattractive in appearancex; Another; object is to provide a templerof'the above-char l0 acter which is inexpensive Jo-manufacture both from astandpoint :of lalw'r' -and materials arsed; 1 Another =obj ect -is'=toprovide a nomrnetallic. tem ple which will-be sturdy and well able towithstand hard usage. A further object is to provide a non-metallictemple"of'the above character whichrmaytbesused. as either the rightzorleft:- hand temple of a frame. A stilt-Jurtherobject: is to provide -atempleaof the. above character which eliminates the necessity ofproviding the templewith a metal reinforcing rod whil 'atthe:same*time"hasstrength equivalent to a tern--- ple' provided with-areinforcing rod; Other. ob-# jects will loe'irrpart obvious and-in partpointed V out hereinafter: 5

The invention'accordingly'oonsists intheufeatures':of"construction,--'combinationsof elements and parts all"as will be---illustratively described:- herein, thescope-of-theapplication being indi catedin the-"followingclaim V Figure1 is a top plan view of my non-metallic temple;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the temple shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawing.

It might here be noted that any reference hereinafter to a rearwarddirection refers to a direction toward the face of the wearer when thetemple is connected to an eyeglass frame whereas the term forwarddenotes the opposite direction. An outward direction signifies adirection outwardly from the side of the head of the wearer of a frame,while the term inward denotes a direction opposite thereto.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of certain features of thisinvention, it might here be pointed out that there are certainobjections to the better quality non-metallic temples now V incluse. Formanyyears; to: give non metal'lic'i. templesi'of light 'iconstructionstructural 'strength'iand: to: make-:norr-metallic temples which willzl: hold :their shape,:non.-imetallic temples have b86111: providedwithametali reinforcingyrods; These; rods areiobjectionable firstbecause. the FIB-311115- facture: ofiiatnon-metallic templehavingarrrein g, forcings rodv thereinsis; expensive both from; the'jestandpoint. ofiilabor. and .zmaterials used; Iniu -manufacturing: such atemplethe rod is'firSt -in'-;

sorted. the nonemetallicistocki by special; machinery; Next, eachrtemplemust be zmachineclgg.

ground; and then polished... During-these operae tionsszextremelncarel-i must be. used: to;-insure'. that the"rightzamount-'ofrstockzis: removed ifrom veach.-

tem'pie; sci-that; its'z' reinforcing 'rcdsisecentrall-yj positionedth'ereina Eachxofithe.aboverstepsnis If; theirnon-metallic materialiniiai temple. is-z-transparent; the. rcddetracts from the:- appearance:of thezitemple "as "the. rod is visible a through athetplasticimateriaLi. Furthermore, the; size of the rod is magnified by thecurved'rsurexpensive;

face ofthe non-metallicsmaterial whichlacts :as

a magnifying dens; which :further :detracts from:-

Thus :there"; are;v major objections to using reinforcing rods inteme:ples, and it i's-accordinglyanother object :of thiszr invention to.provide a nonemetallic temple :of lig-ht constr uction which :will? holdits :shape vzarrd s be structurally strong without requiring the .1186?the appearance of a temple.

of a reinforcing rod.

Referring now to the drawing-, the'z 'templc generally indicated at E0,is preferably made from a suitable plastic material by injectionmolding. The body of temple includes a relatively rigid portion,generally indicated at Ilia, a resilient portion generally indicated atlflb and an inwardly curved, flexible portion generally indicated atI00. Portion Ilia of the temple, which includes the end which isconnected to the end piece of a non-metallic eyeglass frame, is fairlythick in cross portion Figure 5. Because of the thickness of thisportion a strong connection may be made between the temple and the metalhinge plate which hingedly connects the temple to the frame. In additionto forming a strong support for the hinge connection this portion of thetemple also acts as the base portion on which the temple is built,adding to its structural strength.

The resilient center portion lob of temple Ill includes a body section Hwhich is of considerably less thickness than portion Hla of the temple.Section II is of reduced thickness to give portion 10b of the templeresiliency. To give portion lb of the temple structural strength and toinsure that the temple holds its shape under condition of extended hardusage, a rib I2 is provided on the outside of the temple. This rib isformed as an integral part of the temple and section II tapers upwardlyat its forward end to portion lfla. A further important accomplishmentof the provision of rib i2 is that it gives the temple the necessarystructural strength without materially adding to the temples weight.

Portion lllc of the temple is of still less width than portion 19b andcurves inwardly (Figure 1). The rear portion of the temple graduallydecreases in thickness from its forward end to its rear end. Thisfurther reduction in thickness makes the rear end of the temple flexibleand this, taken in combination with the shape of this portion of thetemple, insures that the temples properly hold the frame in correctposition upon the wearer. The flexing of portion I90 of the temple alsoof material importance in that it affords physical comfort to anywearer, in that portion lfic flexes to conform itself to any shape ofskull. It will be noted that rib I2 gradually tapers in thickness towardthe rear end of the temple and finally blends completely into it. Thisensures that the rear end of the temple holds its shape but does notmaterially interfere with the flexing of this portion of the temple.

Thus it will be seen that a non-metallic temple of light constructionhas been described which is inexpensive to manufacture as it does notinclude a reinforcing rod. Furthermore, this temple because of itsconstruction has structural strength and will not lose its shape. Alsothis temple is one which is constructed so that it correctly holds aframe upon the wearer while affording the wearer a maximmn of comfort.Accordingly a practical and efficient temple has been disclosed in whichthe several objects hereinabove mentioned as well as many others aresuccessfully accomplished.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the mechanical features ofthe above invention, and as many changes might be made in the embodimentabove set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore setforth, or shown in the accompanying drawing, is to be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

In a non-metallic temple for an eyeglass frame,

in combination, a non-metallic body member longitudinally composed ofthree integral portions, a forward portion, a center portion and a rearportion, the forward portion of said body member being rigid and ofslightly less thickness than width and of substantially uniformdimensions in cross sections throughout its length, the center portionbeing of substantially less thickness than said forward portion, saidcenter portion decreasing in thickness and increasin in width from itsforward to its rear end, the rear portion of said body member increasingin width and decreasing in thickness throughout its length from itsforward to its rear end, the increases in width and decreases inthickness in said center and rear portions being gradual and blendinginto each other, and an integral rib centrally positioned on the outsideof said center and rear portions, said rib extending longitudinally ofsaid center and rear portions and its forward end joining the rear endof the forward portion of said body member, said rib being ofsubstantially less width than the width of the center and rear portionsof said body member, said rib gradually decreasing in thickness from itsforward to its rear end where it blends into the outer surface of therear portion of said temple at a point spaced from the rear end of therear portion of said body member, the outer surface of said rib curvingoutwardly away from the outer surface of said body member and said ribslongitudinal edges blending into the outer surface of the center andrear portions of said body member.

JULIUS E. HANSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 90,354 Bouchard July 25, 1933D. 107,337 Hodny Dec. 7, 1937 D. 120,885 Galler June 4, 1940 D. 121,563Bressler July 23, 1940 1,564,899 Schumacher Dec. 8, 1925 1,618,475 ReadFeb. 22, 1927 1,645,658 Nerney Oct. 18, 1927 1,813,148 Cozzens July 7,1931 2,040,245 Crawford May 12, 1936

